Patient care equipment management system

ABSTRACT

An equipment management system provides an equipment support for supporting patient care equipment. The equipment support may be mountable on an arm that extends from a wall, on a column depending from the arm, on a wall mount, on a stand, or on a patient support. Various methods may be used to vertically move the equipment support up and down to engage and disengage the equipment support from supporting devices.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/455,621, filed Mar. 18, 2003 andU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/510,756, filed Oct. 13, 2003,which are expressly incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to a system for supporting patient careequipment adjacent a patient support.

Hospitalized patients often require patient care equipment to be inclose proximity during care. Such patient care equipment may includeheart monitoring equipment, medical gas delivery equipment, infusionpumps, intra-venous bags, equipment monitors, defibrillators, and otherpatient care equipment, many of which directly connect to the patientvia lines or tubes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises one or more of the following features orelements in the appended claims or combinations thereof. A patient careequipment management system comprises an equipment support. Theequipment support may be mountable on an arm that extends from a wall,on a column depending from the arm, on a wall mount, on a stand, or on apatient support. Various methods may be used to move the equipmentsupport upwardly and downwardly to engage and disengage the equipmentsupport from supporting devices.

A patient support typically has a base on the floor and apatient-support portion that is supported above the base and movablerelative to the base between a first position and a second position thatis lower than the first position. A support arm can be coupled to thepatient-support portion, and the equipment support can be coupled to theother end of the support arm. The equipment support can be coupled to astand. The stand may comprise a set of legs movable between a storageposition and a use position, the legs being automatically deployed tothe use position when the stand is lowered onto the floor.

The support arm may be a motorized lift. The support arm may haveactuator buttons that operate a linear actuator. The equipment supportmay have a post. A post receiver may be mounted on a distal end of thesupport arm. A post receiver may also be mounted on a patient supportframe member, on a column supported by a wall-mounted arm, on a wallmount, or on a stand.

It should be understood that while the illustrated method of couplingthe equipment support to either the patient support frame member,column, wall mount, or stand shows a post mating with a post receiver,other coupling methods are within the scope of the disclosure.Therefore, it should be understood that when references to a post and apost receiver are used throughout the disclosure, such references aremerely the illustrated embodiment, and in general, a first coupler maycouple with a second coupler to form a support or engagement between theequipment support and the patient support frame member, the column of anarm, the wall mount, or the stand.

Additional features will become apparent to those skilled in the artupon consideration of the following detailed description of illustrativeembodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out various systemsfor transporting and supporting patient care equipment as presentlyperceived.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanyingfigures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an equipment management system having anequipment support and patient care equipment configured to be mounted ina plurality of locations;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the equipment support positioned on astand adjacent to a patient support;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view similar to that of FIG. 2 showing theequipment support carried by an arm extending from the patient support;

FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the equipment support positionedon a vertically telescoping stand;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of another equipment support having twoposts for mounting on post receivers;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an equipment support that is supportableby a motorized lift configured to engage a post of the equipmentsupport;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view similar to that of FIG. 6 showing themotorized lift engaged with the equipment support post;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the motorized lift of FIGS. 6-7showing a linear actuator housed therein;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view similar to that of FIG. 8 showing thelinear actuator extended such that the motorized lift is in a raisedposition;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a self-deploying stand for carrying anequipment support;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view similar to that of FIG. 10, showing thestand deployed;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a stand having a plurality oftwo-member upper legs connected to single-member lower legs;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the stand of FIG. 12 in the collapsedstate;

FIG. 14 is a top view of an equipment support mounted on a patientsupport so as to permit passage through an elevator door; and

FIG. 15 is another embodiment of a telescoping stand.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A patient care equipment management system 10, shown in FIG. 1,comprises an equipment support 16 that can be carried or supported by atleast one of a patient support 12, a stand 18, a support arm 20, and awall mount 22. Illustratively, equipment support 16 can be supportedinterchangeably by patient support 12, stand 18, support arm 20, andwall mount 22.

It should be understood that although patient support 12 isillustratively shown in FIG. 1 as a transportable hospital bed forsupporting patient 14, other patient supports are within the scope ofthe disclosure and can be substituted for the illustrated embodiment.For example, patient support 12 could be a stretcher, a surgical table,a wheel chair, or any other medical device on which a patient may besupported.

Illustratively, equipment support 16 carries a display and a pluralityof monitors for monitoring the status of patient 14. However, it shouldbe understood that other medical devices may be carried by orincorporated into equipment support 16 as desired for the care ofpatient 14. An additional equipment support 24 may be provided, as canbe seen in FIG. 1, and may or may not have the features describedherein.

Patient support 12 illustratively includes a base 26 (typicallyincluding a base frame hidden in whole or in part by a shroud), apatient-support deck 28 supporting a mattress 30, and an intermediateframe 32. Linkage 34 connects intermediate frame 32 to base 26; thelinkage 34 is power driven thereby permitting movement ofpatient-support deck 28 and intermediate frame 32 relative to base 26.Intermediate frame 32 illustratively includes head-end frame member 36,which is configured to extend horizontally beyond the periphery ofpatient-support deck 28 such that certain items can be mounted thereon,including, for example, push handles 38 and corner bumpers 40, as shownin FIG. 1. Patient support 12 has a longitudinal axis.

It will be appreciated that such patient supports or hospital beds arewell known and need not be discussed in detail herein. For example, U.S.Pat. No. 5,790,997 to Weismiller discloses such a patient support and isincorporated herein by reference.

Push handles 38 are illustratively configured to respond to urges from acaregiver, including pushing or pulling forces exerted on handles 38.Such pushing or pulling of handles 38 causes handles 38 to act uponrespective force sensors interposed between handles 38 and frame member36. The force sensors may comprise, for example, load cells (not shown)that are housed in patient support 12 and that sense the force appliedto handles 38. The load cells send signals to a motorized tractiondevice (not shown) for propelling the patient support 12, as isdisclosed further in U.S. Publication Number 2002/0088055 A1,incorporated herein by reference. However, it should be understood thatpush handles 38 may alternatively comprise standard-mount handles, orpush handles 38 may be omitted from patient support 12.

An engager, such as illustrative support arm 42, can be mounted to framemember 36, as shown in FIGS. 1-3. Support arm 42 is illustrativelypivotably mounted to frame member 36 such that support arm 42 pivotsabout axis 44. It should be understood, however, that otherconstructions for pivotably mounting support arm 42 to frame member 36are within the scope of the disclosure.

The illustrative manner in which support arm 42 engages and supportsequipment support 16 is shown in FIG. 2. Support arm 42 illustrativelyincludes a proximal end 46 that is coupled to frame member 36 and adistal end 48 that is spaced apart from proximal end 46. A post receiver50 is illustratively mounted to distal end 48 of support arm 42. Postreceiver 50 is configured to engage a downwardly pointing post 52located on equipment support 16. Illustratively, post 52 is conicalfrustum shaped at lower end 54, facilitating engagement between postreceiver 50 and post 52 even when alignment between the two is slightlyoff. It should be understood, however, that other approaches by whichsupport arm 42 engages and supports equipment support 16 are within thescope of the disclosure. For example, support arm 42 could have a postmounted on distal end 48, while equipment support 16 could have a postreceiver. Or as discussed above, support arm 42 could have a firstcoupler and equipment support could have a second, correspondingcoupler.

FIG. 3 shows the illustrated embodiment of the support arm 42 engagingand supporting equipment support 16. Post receiver 50 on distal end 48of support arm 42 is brought into engagement with lower end 54 of post52 by raising patient-support deck 28 and intermediate frame 32 relativeto base 26. As intermediate frame 32 raises relative to base 26, supportarm 42 raises with frame member 36 and intermediate frame 32, therebymoving post receiver 50 toward engagement with post 52.

Once post 52 and post receiver 50 are mated together, as shown in FIG.3, support arm 42 can fully support equipment support 16, andcollapsible legs 56 of stand 18 need not balance nor support the weightof equipment support 16. Therefore, as support arm 42 continues to raisewith intermediate frame 32, legs 56 begin to draw in closer toward eachother as a result of the force of gravity pulling the legs downwardly,as can be seen in FIG. 3.

As discussed above, support arm 42 is pivotably mounted to frame member36, and is pivotable between a substantially longitudinally extendingposition relative to the patient support, shown in FIGS. 2-3, and asubstantially laterally extending position, as shown in FIG. 14.Furthermore, as can be seen in FIGS. 2-3, support arm 42 has a steppedconfiguration and is formed such that distal end 48 of support arm 42 islower in elevation than proximal end 46 of support arm 42. Suchpivotable mounting permits distal end 48 of support arm 42 to pivot to aposition below patient support deck 28, allowing equipment support 16 tobe brought in sufficiently close to a side of patient support 12 suchthat equipment support 16 and patient support 12 having a width A canfit into an elevator door having a width B (commonly a standard of 48″wide) as shown in FIG. 14. During transport, legs 56 are illustrativelylifted a sufficient height off of the floor such that elevator and doorthresholds can be cleared during transport without contacting legs 56.

When it is desirable to again return equipment support 16 to a positionsupported on the floor, for example when patient support 12 has reachedthe anticipated destination, patient-support deck 28 is lowered inrelation to base 26, and likewise intermediate frame 32 and frame member36 lower with patient-support deck 28. Support arm 42 lowers as framemember 36 lowers, and foot pads 58 on legs 56 contact the floor.

In one illustrative embodiment, when foot pads 58 contact the floor, anouter edge of each foot pad 58 contacts first, urging foot pads 58 andtheir respective legs 56 outwardly toward the deployed position, shownin FIG. 2. Eventually, post receiver 50 disengages from post 52 afterframe 32 is lowered by a sufficient amount, leaving equipment support 16free-standing, as can be seen in FIG. 2.

In the disclosed embodiment, foot pads 58 each include a castor wheel(not shown) housed in the foot pad 58. The castor wheel is disclosed tobe near the outer edge of the foot pad 58 such that it is the first tocontact the floor when equipment support 16 is lowered from itstransport position, thereby facilitating deployment of the legs 56.However, it is within the scope of the disclosure to utilize syntheticfootpads comprised of a material that glides over the floor, rather thanhaving footpads with castor wheels. Alternatively, castors 60 may besubstituted for the foot pads, as can be seen in FIG. 1. Legs 56 may ormay not be collapsible.

FIGS. 4-13 and 15 show alternative embodiments of various elements of anequipment management system. FIG. 4 shows a mount post 64 that extendsbelow equipment support 16 to engage a post receiver 66 on stand 62.Illustratively, patient support device 12 also includes a post receiver68 configured to receive end 70 of mount post 64. When it is desired toposition equipment support 16 on patient support device 12 anddisconnect support 16 from stand 62, end 70 is positioned over postreceiver 68 and release pedal 72 is depressed on the base of stand 62.End 70 of mount post 64 is illustratively conical frustum shaped.Release pedal 72 illustratively releases a pneumatic piston insidetelescoping column 74 of stand 62, thereby allowing for column 74 toretract under its own weight so that end 70 of mount post 64 can engagean aperture formed in post receiver 68.

Another embodiment of a telescoping stand 162 is illustrated in FIG. 15.Illustratively, stand 162 comprises a telescoping column 164 thattelescopes relative to base 166. A bearing system having bearings 168facilitates telescoping movement in the direction of arrow 170. Acontrol pendant (not shown) can be attached with a cord, the controlpendant actuating telescoping movement of the stand 162. An emergencystop button 172 is disclosed for overriding or halting the telescopingmovement. In the disclosed embodiment, a Linak LA 31 linear actuator ishoused internally in the telescoping column 164, and a Linak “Jumbo”battery pack and Linak “Jumbo” control box are positioned inside housing174, mounted on the exterior of telescoping column 164. Illustratively,telescoping stand 162 may have between 30.48 and 45.72 cm of telescopingmovement. A handle 176 is also provided for horizontal movement of stand162.

Post receiver 66, as seen in FIGS. 4 and 15, illustratively comprises asubstantially C-shaped cross-section that permits the passage of end 70(shown in FIG. 4) therethrough, while being capable of engaging a collar76 on mount post 64. Therefore, once end 70 is in place, post receiver66 of stand 62 can be lowered below collar 76 and disengaged from mountpost 64, permitting stand 62 to be moved away from patient supportdevice 12. It should be understood that other embodiments and couplingmechanisms are within the scope of the disclosure, including the use ofa protrusion instead of a collar.

Post receiver 68 may be fixedly mounted on a patient support 12, or itmay be horizontally movable relative to the patient support 12. Postreceiver 68 may be located at any number of positions, including at theside, head end, center, or corner of patient support 12.

When it is desired to again position equipment support 16 on stand 62,post receiver 66 can engage end 70 below collar 76, and lift pedal 78can be actuated (illustratively pumped up and down) to extendtelescoping column 74 upwardly to engage collar 76, lifting equipmentsupport 16 off of patient support device 12.

FIG. 5 shows an equipment support 80 having two posts 82 configured tomate with post receivers 84 coupled to frame member 36. Illustratively,a selected one of posts 82 is inserted into a selected post receiver 84,and is pivotable about an axis coaxial with the selected post 82.

It should be understood that while the illustrative embodiments showpost receivers on a head end of a patient support, it is within thescope of the disclosure to mount post receivers on other portions of thebed for equipment support placement at a side or foot end of a bed. Itis also within the scope of the disclosure to utilize a plurality ofpost receivers simultaneously—for either multiple equipment supports orfor an equipment support that comprises spaced apart posts thatsimultaneously are supported by equally spaced apart post receivers.

In still another embodiment, a support arm can have an elbow or pivotjoint (not shown) for further range of motion of a supported equipmentsupport 16 about a second parallel axis.

FIGS. 10-13 show additional embodiments of a stand. FIGS. 10-11 show astand 86 having a plurality of legs 88 linked via linkage 90 to acentral hub 92. Central hub 92 is configured to slide vertically on acentrally located post 94, and is biased toward the transport positionby spring 96. A deployment-assist tube 98 is sleeved over post 94, suchthat post 94 and tube 98 are coaxial. Deployment of legs 88 occurs inthe following fashion. As a result of the bias of spring 96, legs 88remain in their transport position, shown in FIG. 10, unless outsideforces act upon stand 86. When it is desired to deploy legs 88, stand 86is pushed toward the floor such that deployment-assist tube 98 contactsthe floor and begins to move axially relative to post 94. Such axialmovement of tube 98 relative to post 94 causes tube 98 to urge hub 92vertically upwardly on post 94, thereby moving linkage 90, as can beseen in FIG. 11. Each linkage 90 is pivotably mounted on one end to hub92, and on the other end to a central portion of a leg 88. In thedeployed position, shown in FIG. 11, stand 86 is maintained in thedeployed position by the weight of the equipment support that would bemounted on stand 86. Once equipment support is lifted, legs 88 withdrawto the transport position as a result of the bias of spring 96. Footpads 100 may be castors, rubber feet, slidable polymeric pads, or anyother foot pad known in the art.

FIGS. 12-13 show another embodiment for a stand 102. Stand 102 comprisesa plurality of legs 104, each leg 104 having a four-bar linkageincluding a knee joint 106. Each leg 104 has a two-member upper portion108 connected at knee joint 96 to a single-member lower portion 110. Byspacing apart the connection of the two members to the single member,legs 104 of stand 102 extend farther out when deployed, covering alarger footprint with comparatively shorter legs.

Illustratively, foot pads 112 coupled to distal ends of legs 104 have apolymeric composition, and are configured to slide relative to the floorand thereby facilitate the deployment of legs 104 when foot pads 112come into contact with the floor.

Another embodiment for a support arm 114 extending from a patientsupport 12 is shown in FIGS. 6-9. Such an embodiment can be used on anypatient support, but is particularly useful on patient supports 12having fixed intermediate frames that do not move relative to the baseof the patient support 12 and that may carry headboards (not shown). Insuch an embodiment, a 4-bar motorized lift 116 is provided, the lift 116illustratively having actuator buttons 118 located thereon which can bedepressed by a caregiver desiring to either lower or raise equipmentsupport 16 relative to patient support 12.

As shown in the cutaway views of FIGS. 8-9, motorized lift 116 comprisesa top frame member 120 and a bottom frame member 122, each frame memberillustratively being a U-shaped metal beam. A patient-support mount 124illustratively includes a post 126 for insertion into a post receiver128 (visible in FIGS. 6-7). However, it should be understood that otherconfigurations for a patient-support mount are within the scope of thedisclosure, and motorized lift 116 could alternatively be directlymounted on a frame member of patient support 12.

Frame members 120, 122 are each illustratively pivotably attached topatient-support mount 124 at one end via pins 130, 132. At the otherend, frame members 120, 122 are pivotably attached to a post receiver134 via pins 136, 138. A linear actuator 140 is illustratively coupledat one end to bottom frame member 122 via pin 132, and at the other endto top frame member 120 via pin 136. Linear actuator 140 isillustratively an electrically powered linear motor, however, it iswithin the scope of the disclosure to utilize any electric, pneumatic,gas powered, or other type of motor that is capable of lifting one endof a motorized lift relative to the other end. Such an illustrativelinear actuator may be commercially available from Linak® as modelnumber LA28. Linak is headquartered in Nordborg, Denmark.

Illustratively, as linear actuator 140 extends, pin 136 (andconsequently post receiver 134) is moved away from pin 132 (which isconnected to patient-support mount 124), therefore motorized lift 116 ismoved from a lowered position, such as the phone shown in phantom inFIG. 9, to a raised position, as shown in dark lines in FIG. 9.Furthermore, because top frame member 120 and bottom frame member 122slidably move relative to each other when linear actuator 140 isactuated, post receiver 134 is caused to remain oriented so as toprovide a substantially vertical support for a post 142, as seen in FIG.9.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, equipment support 16 can be mounted on atelescoping arm 20 that extends from a wall. Telescoping arm 20 maycomprise a mount end 144 that is pivotable about a vertical axis 146,and a equipment-support end 148. Arm 120 may include a first segment 150and a second segment 152 that telescopes horizontally into and out ofsegment 150. In addition to pivoting about axis 146 and telescopinghorizontally, arm 20 may be configured so that equipment support 16 isrotatable relative to telescoping arm 20. Thus, arm 20 is configuredsuch that equipment support 16 can be positioned at any locationalongside patient support 12.

Equipment support 16 is illustratively mounted on a column 154 whichextends downwardly from the distal end of arm 20. Lower portion 156 ofcolumn 154 is illustratively vertically movable relative to arm 20 suchthat equipment support 16 can be vertically raised and lowered andselectively docked on either post receiver 50, stand 18, or wall mount22. Posts 52 and 160 of equipment support 16 can be manufactured invarious sizes as required by the application. In some applications, onlya single post may be required. Illustratively, wall mount 22 is C-shapedand is attached to an inner wall of cabinet 158.

The structural details of such radial arm arrangements are shown in acompanion patent application entitled “Radial Arm System for PatientCare Equipment”, Attorney Docket No. 7175-74606, being filedsimultaneously with this application and based on U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 60/455,621, filed Mar. 18, 2003 (entitled “PatientEquipment Support System”) and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.60/510,756, filed Oct. 13, 2003 (entitled “Patient Equipment SupportSystem”), the co-filed application being incorporated herein byreference. It will be appreciated that linear actuators or the like maybe used to extend and retract the radial arm 20 to move column 154.

Although the invention has been described in detail with reference tocertain illustrative embodiments, variations and modifications existwith the scope and spirit of this disclosure as described and defined inthe following claims.

1. An apparatus for supporting patient care equipment relative to apatient support, the apparatus comprising an engager coupled to thepatient support, an equipment support to be coupled to the engager, anda stand to be removably coupled to the equipment support, the standcomprising a set of legs movable between a storage position and a useposition.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the set of legs isconfigured to be suspended above the floor in the storage position whenthe stand is supported in a first position, and the set of legs isconfigured to engage the floor and move from the storage position to theuse position as the stand moves from the first position to a second,floor-engaging position.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theengager comprises a support arm and a coupler positioned on a distal endof the support arm.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the support armis pivotably mounted on the patient support.
 5. The apparatus of claim4, wherein the support arm comprises a post receiver and the equipmentsupport comprises a post, and the post is receivable in the postreceiver to couple the equipment support to the support arm.
 6. A systemfor supporting patient care equipment, the system comprising a patientsupport having a base frame and an intermediate frame movable between araised and lowered position relative to the base frame, the patientsupport having a head end and sides, a support arm coupled to theintermediate frame, and an equipment support configured to be mounted onthe support arm, the equipment support carrying medical equipment formonitoring the patient, wherein the equipment support can be movedbetween a use position at the head end of the patient support and atransport position along a selected one of the sides of the patientsupport.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the support arm is pivotablycoupled to the intermediate frame.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein thepatient support has a longitudinal axis, and the support arm ispivotable between a substantially longitudinally extending position anda substantially laterally extending position relative to the patientsupport.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the equipment support isconfigured to be supported at least partially over the patient supportwhen the equipment support is mounted on the support arm and the supportarm is in the laterally extending position.
 10. The system of claim 8,wherein the support arm has a distal end that is vertically below theintermediate frame when the arm is in the laterally extending position.11. The system of claim 6, wherein the equipment support includes a postand the support arm includes a post receiver for receiving the post. 12.The system of claim 11, wherein the post is conical frustum shaped. 13.The system of claim 6, further comprising a stand for supporting theequipment support, the stand having collapsible legs that extend whenthe equipment support is lowered into its resting position on the floorand collapse into a transport position when the stand is raised off ofthe floor.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein each collapsible leg hasa castor wheel mounted thereon.
 15. The system of claim 13, wherein eachcollapsible leg has a slide pad mounted thereon.
 16. The system of claim13, wherein each collapsible leg has a joint, the joint connecting twoupper leg members with a single lower leg member.
 17. The system ofclaim 6, wherein the equipment support is rotatably mounted on thesupport arm.
 18. An equipment support system comprising a telescopingarm configured to be mounted relative to a hospital wall to extendtherefrom, the arm comprising a proximal portion having a mount endpivotably mounted relative to the wall and a second end extending awayfrom the wall, and a distal portion coupled to the second end of theproximal portion and configured to telescope relative to the proximalportion, and an equipment support coupled to the distal portion andconfigured to support patient care equipment thereon.
 19. The system ofclaim 18, wherein the proximal portion of the telescoping arm does notpivot relative to the distal portion.
 20. The system of claim 18,further comprising a console configured to house the telescoping arm andthe equipment support when the system is not in use.
 21. A patient careequipment stand to be positioned relative to a patient in a patientsupport, the stand comprising a hub, a plurality of legs attached to thehub, the legs have a deployed, use position and a transport position, aspring for biasing the hub and legs toward the transport position, andan actuator for moving the hub and legs to the deployed, use positionwhen the actuator contacts a support surface.
 22. The stand of claim 21,further comprising a central post, wherein the hub comprises a ringcircumscribing the post.
 23. The stand of claim 21, further comprising alink extending between the hub and the plurality of legs.
 24. The standof claim 21, wherein the actuator is a hollow tube configured to sleeveover the central post, the tube having a first, floor-engaging end and asecond, hub-engaging end.
 25. An apparatus for supporting a patient andmedical equipment relative to a floor of a hospital room, the apparatuscomprising a patient support having a base on the floor and apatient-support portion that is supported above the base, a motorizedlift coupled to the patient-support portion, the motorized lift having adistal end movable between a raised and lowered position, and anequipment support coupled to the distal end of the support arm.
 26. Theapparatus of claim 25, wherein the motorized lift comprises a top framemember and a bottom frame member movable relative to the top framemember.
 27. The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the motorized liftincludes actuator buttons for controlling movement of the motorized liftbetween the raised and lowered positions.
 28. The apparatus of claim 25,wherein the motorized lift comprises a linear actuator.
 29. An apparatusfor supporting medical equipment in a patient care environment, theapparatus comprising an equipment support having a frame for supportingmedical equipment and a post extending downwardly therefrom, wherein thepost is configured to be received by any one of the group comprising apatient support post receiver, a stand post receiver, a support arm postreceiver, and a wall-mounted post receiver.